Right Angle began as a column in the now-defunct Sunday magazine in November 1991. The column allowed me the luxury of presenting an alternative to the prevailing left-liberal consensus in India. It has become the implicit signature tune for all my subsequent writings.

Sunday, October 30, 2011

West's collapse a warning to India

By Swapan Dasgupta

When the main news of the day happens to be the unnecessarycancellation of a pop concert in the National Capital Region andspeculation over the likelihood of Anna Hazare reshuffling theso-called Team Anna, you can be assured that India is still recoveringfrom its annual Diwali celebrations. The momentary respite from theover-hyped and occasionally contrived celebration of politics is welland truly welcome. Indians too need to re-focus on facets of life thatare truly meaningful and move away from the purposelessness ofmid-season politics.

The weariness, fortunately, is not confined to India alone. In Europe,the seemingly endless bickering over the future of the Euro is on theverge of completing its present season—the drama will doubtlessreappear after Christmas and the New Year. In the US, the comicalfacet of the presidential primaries is on show courtesy anadvertisement of Republican challenger Herman Cain that shows anaide—yes, wait for it—smoking a cigarette! I wonder which is worse forthe morally vulnerable: a flamboyant dictator being dragged out of thegutter and then getting his brains blown out by his own golden pistol,or some unknown guy smoking a cigarette. Is hate more acceptable tothe legions of the politically correct than a self-indulgent smoke?

It is probably an ethical question which defies a single answer.However, you know that things aren’t as bad as they seem when societybecomes agitated thinking about the number of angels that can beaccommodated on a pinhead.

The allusion is to a puerile movement called Occupy Wall Street thatbegan with thousands of angst-ridden trumpets blowing in the US andnow seem to be on its final stages—hardly surprising because campingout is not terribly comfortable as autumn gradually gives way towinter. In many places, the OWS has fizzled out, in other places agentle nudge by the authorities has been sufficient to clear publicspaces, and in some of the remoter outposts of capitalism theprotestors are still being egged on by subversive clergymen.

Actually, the London version of the OWS has proved to be the mostinteresting since it has produced an exotic khichdi of economics andChristian theology. Reverend Dr Giles Fraser, the Canon Chancellor ofSt Paul’s Cathedral, resigned from his post because he could notcountenance the idea of using either force or the law to evict thosewho earnestly believed that pitching their tents and blocking accessto the Cathedral would—as the banners demanded—“End Capitalism.”

Rev Fraser is a sanctimonious simpleton. He was so overwhelmed by theChristian piety of the protestors that he proclaimed “I could imagineJesus being born in the camp.” He also declared that it was fittingthat a tented community had sprung up around St Paul’s because theSaint had been a tentmaker in real life—a factoid that should answerwhy the BJP feels it has St Paul’s on its side.

Most practicing Christians obviously disagree with Rev Fraser’smisplaced benevolence. The OWS hasn’t captured the public imaginationin the same way as the anti-Vietnam protests did. In fact, evencompared to the Tea Party movement against high taxes and federalintrusiveness, its impact appears to be minimal. The piousproclamation of a Warren Buffet that he should be taxed more hasn’tendeared him to those ordinary people who believe that bloatedgovernments, far from resolving problems, actually prevent individualsand communities to empower themselves financially.

There is obvious concern in the West that the logic of capitalism isdisplacing them from the top of the pile and shifting the centre ofgravity eastwards—to China, to India and even to Australia. But thisunease hasn’t been sufficient to create a revolutionary movementagainst advanced, as Karl Marx hoped it would. The West has just toomuch to lose by allowing an economic system that it helped nurture togo out of control. This is why the focus in Europe is over how toprevent countries with responsible government such as Germany frombeing dragged down by the profligate spending habits of countries suchas Greece.

The tremors in the world’s financial and capital markets have preciouslittle to do with yearning for the true Christian spirit or nostalgiafor 1950s style socialism. There is an awkward truth that ismanifesting itself all over the world: societies can’t go on livingbeyond their means indefinitely. Sooner or later the non-viability ofhigh debts begins to be felt.

The West is concerned that its economies are no longer generating thewealth that is needed to sustain a standard of living it becomeaccustomed to. Some are trying to meet the challenge by upgradingskills and by attracting capital with the assurance of rule-basedsocieties. Yet others are unwilling to tolerate even temporaryhardship and see their salvation in silly protests such as OWS thatsimultaneously help people salvage their conscience.

India doesn’t have too many moral dilemmas. This Diwali saw a downturnin consumer offtakes but didn’t dampen the overall celebrations.That’s because the people have a long history of adjusting totemporary hardships. They know that corruption isn’t a moral issue buta practical one involving fiscal adjustment. The Government, however,thinks differently. This is why it should open its eyes to what isgoing on in the world before undertaking pre-election splurges withyours and my money.

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About Me

The Right is an endangered community in India's English-language media. I happen to be one of the few to have retained a precarious toehold in the mainstream media. I intend this blog as a sounding board of ideas and concerns.
You can read the details of my education, professional experience and political inclinations on Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swapan_Dasgupta).
RIGHT ANGLE is an archive of my published articles. USUAL SUSPECTS is my blog.